11-28-2015

        Good Morning All!!     

        Exodus 24:17: “Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.”

    Why don’t we see this anymore?  Why don’t we see this miraculous display of God’s majesty?  When we think of the story that surrounds the plagues of Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, the leading through the wilderness with the pillar of cloud and fire; when we think of the awe and majesty of God’s very presence at Mount Sinai we think, “now that is what God should be like.”  “I could believe in a God like that real easy.  I would never leave a God like that.”  “Just give me a God with thunderbolts and lightening and make Him very, very frightening to all my (His) enemies.”

   You would think that wouldn’t you?  It must have been so easy for those early Israelites to believe in God; they saw Him and the mighty works that He did.  Yet a mere 8 chapters later in Exodus, in chapter 32, while they are still camped at the bottom of Mt. Sinai, they fall away and worship a golden calf.  Too often, our pleas for God to do something, is really a call for God to do what I want, when I want and to whom I want it done.  Ultimately we don’t want God to show His power so we can have faith; we want God to show His power so we can try and control God to do our will.  We are trying to trade places with God and place ourselves on His holy throne and rule all.  That is too often the “proof “we seek.

     Fortunately, God knows better than all of us.  He acts in ways that are designed to reconcile back to Him with love and not total fear.  He doesn’t try to scare us into faith; rather He leads us back to Him with “a still, quiet voice” a voice that offers hope and comfort.  God’s majesty is all around; all we need to do is look.  God’s love is revealed to us in the empty tomb of Christ.  We should then respond to the world with love, as God did to us, and leave the “thunderbolts and lightening” to old rock songs.

    So as we approach this coming Advent season, we do so looking forward to when Jesus will return in power and glory to complete the healing and the restoration that He began with his ministry here on earth.  We look forward to his mighty hand to bring about the end of suffering, the end of death.  We look to him with the hope and security that we so desire and need.  Yet until he does return, we wait.  We wait with confidence that the victory is ours through Jesus.  As we wait, we are to be part of the healing; we are to be part of the restoration.   We can, confidently, share Jesus’ Gospel message of salvation and hope until he returns.    

Lord of power and might, we give you thanks for your great power but we especially give you thanks for your great love.  Move us to share that love with one person today and each day until you return.  Guide us by your Spirit to bring hope and healing to this broken world.  In your precious Name we pray, Amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret